Sun-mee Jin

Content created by Virtual Intern Eden Davenport

Sun-mee Jin is an advocate for underrepresented groups in the Republic of Korea (ROK). As a lawyer, she led the case to repeal the patriarchal Hoju (family head) system and later as the Minister of Gender Equality and Family (MOGEF) from 2018 to 2019, she increased gender diversity in business. In 2020, she was elected as the chair of the National Assembly's Land, Infrastructure, and Transport Committee.

Jin participated in the International Visitor Leadership Program (IVLP) in 2007, spurring her interest in politics as an advocate for women’s rights after a meeting with the female Chief Justice of Montana’s Supreme Court. Five years after her IVLP, Jin was elected to the ROK National Assembly and became widely known for filibustering for nine hours against a controversial anti-terror bill.

In 2018, Jin led MOGEF in researching gender diversity in the workplace and found that women executives are a rarity at the ROK's top 500 corporations at 3 percent. In response, Jin said, "The level of women representativeness in Korea is little short of reprehensible considering the size of the country’s economy. Based on the survey’s results, the Ministry of Gender Equality and Family will make constant and conscious efforts to expand the number of women executives in cooperation with private organizations."

To promote gender diversity in business, Jin urged companies to voluntarily increase the percentage of women executives and worked with the government to develop a skills-development program for women at different stages of their careers, called the Women Leader Academy.

As a champion for underrepresented groups, Sun-mee Jin is building a more inclusive society in the Republic of Korea.

Content edited by Sallie Bestul, Regina Navarro-Gomez, and Jenna Williams

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